Christian Exorcism
Christian exorcism is the practice of casting out demons performed using the power of Christ in the name of Jesus or through prayer.{Matthew 10:1, 8; Mark 6:7; Luke 9:1; 10:17} The COGIC believes that demons can possess people's spirits and drive (force) them to commit wicked sins and abominations against the Lord, and that the only way to rid them of the demons is to cast the demons out of them in the name of Christ Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. In general, people considered to be possessed are not regarded as evil in themselves, nor wholly responsible for their actions, because possession is considered to be unwilling manipulation by a demon resulting in harm to self or others. Therefore, practitioners regard exorcism as more of a cure than a punishment. In the Bible In the Bible, there are nine instances of Jesus casting demons out of people: *'Exorcism at the Synagogue in Capernaum,' where Jesus exorcised an evil spirit who cried out, "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!". *'Exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac', where people had tried to chain up a demoniac but he had escaped, and lived in tombs, and roamed the hills, crying and cutting himself. Jesus asked the man's name, and was told by the man/devils that his name was Legion, "...for we are many". The devils asked to be expelled into a group of swine, which Jesus allowed, and thereafter the swine fell into the lake and drowned. The swine keepers told the townsfolk what had happened, and when the townsfolk saw that the man was sane, they besought Jesus to leave "for they were taken with great fear". The man, on the other hand, informed the whole of the Decapolis what had happened. There are some discrepancies about this particular exorcism; both Mark and Luke only mention one man who was possessed. Matthew saw two men whom Jesus freed from demoniac possession. *'Exorcising the Canaanite woman's daughter,' appears in Matthew 15:21-28 and Mark 7:24-30. The woman asked Jesus to heal her daughter, but Jesus said, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel". The woman replied, "Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table", whereupon Jesus told her that her daughter was healed, and when the woman returned home she found that this was true. *'Exorcising the blind and mute man,' appears in Matthew 12:22-32, Mark 3:20-30, and Luke 11:14-23. Jesus healed a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, so that he could both talk and see. People were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" But the Pharisees said that it is only by Beelzebul, that he drives out demons, but Jesus rebuked them. *'Exorcising a boy possessed by a demon,' appears in Matthew 17:14-21, Mark 9:14-29, and Luke 9:37-49. A boy possessed by a demon was brought forward to Jesus immediately after Jesus' transfiguration. The boy was said to have foamed at the mouth, gnashed his teeth, become rigid and involuntarily fallen into both water and fire. Jesus' followers could not expel the demon, and Jesus condemned the people as unbelieving, but when the father of the boy questioned if Jesus could heal the boy, Jesus said "everything is possible for those that believe", so the father said he believed that the boy could be healed, and Jesus healed him. *The miracle of Jesus exorcising at sunset appears in the Synoptic Gospels just after healing the mother of Peter's wife, in Matthew 8:16-17, Mark 1:32-34 and Luke 4:40-41. In this miracle Jesus healed people and cast out many devils who knew he was Christ. *The miracle of Jesus exorcising a mute appears in Matthew 9:32-34 immediately following the account of the miracle of Jesus healing two blind men. A man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. And when the devil was cast out, the man who had been mute spoke. *Jesus had cast seven devils out of Mary Magdalene. (Mark 16:9, Luke 8:2)\ *Jesus continued to cast out devils even though Herod Antipas wanted to kill him. (Luke 13:31-32) In COGIC Doctrine The Church of God in Christ believes that demons are real, but through the grace of Jesus Christ who gives Christians power through the Holy Ghost, demons can be subdued and conquered by the Holy Ghost in Jesus' name. The COGIC teaches that only those with the power of the Holy Ghost whom God has called to do so can cast demons out of people if it is God's will. The COGIC also teahces that demons can be cast out by the power of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands and prayer to God. However, even with these beliefs, the Church of God in Christ does not place a ''huge ''emphasis on exorcism because the COGIC also believes the Devil (or Satan) was already defeated by the Lord Jesus Christ when He died on the cross and rose back to life three days later. (John 19:17-37; Luke 24:1-53; 1 Corinthians 15:56-57; Revelation 12:11; Revelation 20:10) The COGIC also believes that according to the book of Ephesians, as Christians, we should use our gifts of the Spirit and our fruits of the Spirit to fight against the works and the evil powers of Satan. Gallery 220px-JesusCuresamute.gif|Jesus Exorcising a Mute Jesus demons-cropped.gif|Jesus Casting out demons tumblr_mg9yyxWgVI1qbhp9xo1_1280.jpg Gerasene Demoniac.gif|Gerasene Demoniac bishop_masoncogic1.jpg|Bishop C. H. Mason laying hands on Christian believers and praying for them in the Holy Ghost Category:Doctrines of the COGIC